


On the Eve

by Lafeae



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Anxiety, Drabble, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, Written in an Hour
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:07:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27361720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lafeae/pseuds/Lafeae
Summary: Joey exhaled. “Does tomorrow scare ya?”“I wouldn’t say scared.”“What would ya say?”—Anxiety affects everyone differently. Joey and Seto are no exception.
Relationships: Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Kaiba Seto
Comments: 10
Kudos: 44





	On the Eve

**Author's Note:**

> Drabble thing. Enjoy

“Don’t let him eat anything,” Mokuba ordered.

Joey waved dismissively. “I can’t get him to eat regularly.”

“I know, but he might be feeling...rebellious.”

If Seto was thinking anything, he didn’t show it. He sat quietly beside Joey, and across from Mokuba, in the downstairs parlour. He skimmed through the paper, though Joey noticed he hadn’t flipped the page over recently. The font was small, but not that small.

“I don’t think so. He knows I ain’t gonna let him be an idiot.”

“As if you have control over that,” Seto replied curtly.

“I mean...you’re my husband, I think I got a little say.” Joey reached over to hold Seto’s hand, but when he didn’t budge, settled for resting a hand on his wrist. The brunet stiffened, as if surprised. “But I know you’re not gonna be an idiot. Not on my watch.”

“Mm.”

“Don’t let him drink, either,” Mokuba said.

“Oh, he ain’t doin’ that,” assured Joey. “That’s gonna be all me.”

“Then how are you going to ‘watch’ me like you say?” Seto asked.

“Very carefully,” Mokuba replied for Joey, staring the blond down intently. “I’m trusting you. Don’t let him get himself hurt, got it?”

Tepid laughter escaped Joey. It came out like a balloon slowly letting out air. He shrugged his shoulders and fell back into the couch, looking at Mokuba without saying anything.

Mokuba’s look hardened.

Joey smiled. “I won’t. Geez, kid, you’d think I ain’t been through this before.”

“Not like this.”

Joey shook his head, but said, “Yeah, maybe you’re right,” because he didn’t want the argument. Mokuba was a bundle of nerves and had been for six months, since Seto’s initial diagnosis. The younger Kaiba had been wound tighter than a guitar string, and he was about to snap soon. But he hadn’t. And that made Joey’s guts twist. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t eat or drink anythin’, an’ we’ll see ya when ya get to the hospital tomorrow.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Don’t rush,” Seto said, calm.

“This is more important, Seto. I’m gonna rush.”

Mokuba stood to leave, and Joey offered him another half-cocked smile. He imbued every good feeling, every happy moment their makeshift family had shared, in that smile. He couldn’t help it. The worry growing in his bowels made him think about those memories. The birthdays, holidays, anniversaries. Everything and anything that felt significant, and even the things that didn’t. He thought your life only flashed before your eyes when you were dying, but he wanted to tell whoever came up with that theory that they were dead wrong.

“Stay safe, kiddo,” Joey said.

Mokuba embraced Seto and gave Joey a stiff, one-arm hug. He ran out of the manor and peeled out of the driveway.

And then they were alone.

Seto turned the paper over. His thumb slid down the margin to mark his place.

“You ain’t readin’ that fast for real, are ya?” Joey asked.

“Mostly.”

“You don’t have to fake it around Mokuba. He knows what’s wrong.”

“I’m not ‘faking it’. I’m keeping the status quo,” Seto explained. “If I keep up the pretence that this is the same, then when this is all over with, he won’t know the difference. Neither will you.”

“...sounds like a fancy way to say you’re fakin’ it.” He set his hand on Seto’s wrist again, this time softer, giving him time to process the touch. He leaned into it, and hummed as Joey gently stroked the inside of Seto’s wrist with the pad of his thumb. “I know this is botherin’ you.”

“It’s mildly irritating.”

“You’re wanderin’ the halls at night. I keep thinkin’ you’re gonna bump into things. Makes me nervous.”

The corner of Seto’s mouth drew up. He laid the paper over his knees and creased it with ease and precision. “I’m not that blind yet,” he replied. “I don’t understand why you and Mokuba worry so much. We’re doing the only thing we can do. We just have to wait until tomorrow.”

Joey shrugged. “It’s sorta like Christmas. Closer ya get to it, the more antsier you are. I don’t think I’m gonna sleep tonight. I keep thinkin’ about all sorts of things.”

“Such as?”

“Nothin’ important.”

“I doubt that.”

Joey rested his cheek Seto’s shoulder. Soft, warm, even if he could feel Seto’s boniness underneath. He resisted the urge to bury his face completely in the wool sweater and let a few thick tears out. They’d been waiting for days and weeks, ever since they’d made the appointment for this surgery, but he didn’t cry because it didn’t make sense to cry.

“I think I’m worried,” Joey said.

“Think.”

“Yeah.”

“About?”

“The doctor talked about the failure rate. It’s pretty much that same as Serenity’s. ‘Cept that was different than this,” Joey said. He pressed his fingers against Seto’s veins, feeling for a pulse. “I’ve told Mokuba that. He thinks it’s like that, but I tell him it’s not because this...this whatever-it-is has a different name. It’s different. It’s gonna be different, an’ just because the numbers are the same doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t. It’s not.”

“I see.”

“So I’m freaked out.” He shifted closer, just in case he did bury his face. “I’m so freaked out. I’m gonna be in that waitin’ room for hours with shitty Internet waitin’ for the results. It’s not like I’m gonna be able to think about anythin’ else.”

Joey looked up. Seto’s jaw tightened, and a little line formed near his nose like he was about to sneer. He propped his chin on the crown of Joey’s head and sighed. “You’re so impossible.”

“I’m scared.”

“And impossible. We’ve done what we can.”

“You keep sayin’ that, but have we?” Joey asked. “What about after?”

“We aren’t there yet.”

“But we gotta think about.”

“We don’t. If it goes the way it’s meant to, we don’t have to do anything,” Seto said, brimming with confidence Joey only wished he knew how it muster. “I don’t expect this to fail, and neither should you. It’s a waste of energy.”

Joey considered pulling away, but he was too comfortable with Seto resting on him. He’d turned to face Joey without actually looking at him. His eyes were dull, half forward, half down, looking at nothing in particular but doing a good job at pretending. As far as Joey could tell, he’d been having trouble for a year or more but he didn’t say anything. And then one morning, he got in his car to go to work, and crashed into the front gate. It ripped the passenger side mirror clean off and nearly took the gate out. Mokuba alternated between crying and grilling into his older brother until Seto admitted there was a problem.

Joey exhaled. “Does tomorrow scare ya?”

“I wouldn’t say scared.”

“What would ya say?”

Slowly, he slithered around Joey. His embrace was weak. His hands searched around for purchase, and when he found it, he gripped handfuls of Joey’s shirt and twisted until the fabric dug into Joey’s skin. “Don’t move,” he whispered. He pushed Joey into his side and sat there for a while. 

The anxiety built up in Joey to the point of shaking. He clenched his fists to keep still like Seto asked him to. He closed his eyes. The gentle  _tick, tick, tick_ of the mantle clock kept him steady.

“It’s gonna be okay.”

_Tick_.

“Quiet.”

_ Tick, tick. _

“It’s gonna be okay.”

_Tick_.

“Shh...”

Joey closed his eyes. “It’s gonna be okay.”

_ Tick, tick, tick.  _

**Author's Note:**

> Me dealing with anxiety in a very general way. I tried to sort of...make it tangible, but everyone experiences it differently. Tell me what you think.


End file.
